TRANSCRIPT
"We have our first full day as president, we're back. We had a great first term and we're gonna have an even better second term. I think we're gonna do things that people will be shocked at."
Well, Donald Trump's presidency is underway once again and he's in a race to prove that his time in office will be far from business as usual.
In a sweeping set of moves that were sure to please his supporters, he immediately rescinded 78 executive actions from the former Biden administration and issued nearly 50 executive orders of his own on issues like immigration, foreign policy and more.
"He already started yesterday and he's going overtime on that. It looks like he's really going straightforward to it and I can't wait to see that."
"I personally feel he's on a good track. I like the direction he's headed and hopefully he'll keep on that path."
And on his first full day in office, he's announced a joint project with OpenA-I, SoftBank and Oracle called Stargate to fund artificial intelligence infrastructure.
The private sector investment of up to $797 billion follows the rolling back of former President Joe Biden's executive order on A-I, that was intended to reduce the risks artificial intelligence poses to consumers, workers and national security.
"It's the largest A-I infrastructure project by far in history and it's all taking place right here in America. What we want to do is we want to keep it in this country. China is a competitor and others are competitors. We want it to be in this country and we're making it available very quickly. Moving very rapidly, creating over 100,000 American jobs almost immediately."
But his executive orders withdrawing the US from the Paris Climate Agreement and the World Health Organisation have drawn the most attention with sharp criticism also coming against new moves to clamp down on immigration and roll back protections for transgender Americans.
The President was reminded of these issues at his inaugural prayer service when Reverend Mariann Budde, the Episcopal bishop of Washington, made a direct appeal to Mr Trump.
"In the name of our God, I ask you to have mercy upon the people in our country who are scared now. There are gay, lesbian and transgender children in Democratic, Republican and independent families, some who fear for their lives. And the people, the people who pick our crops and clean our office buildings who labor in poultry farms and meatpacking plants who wash the dishes after we eat in restaurants and work, the night shifts in hospitals, they – they may not be citizens or have the proper documentation. But the vast majority of immigrants are not criminals."
Mr Trump didn't seem too pleased by the Reverend's words when leaving the church.
Reporter: "Mr President, what did you think of the sermon?"
Trump: "What did you think? I didn't think it was a good service, no. They could do much better."
But it's not only the bishop who has taken issues with his radical policies concerning immigrants, with one particular order seeking to strip birthright citizenship from children of migrants coming under particular scrutiny.
New Jersey's Attorney General Matt Platkin is leading a group of 18 states, as well as the District of Columbia and the city of San Francisco, in filing a lawsuit attempting to block Trump’s order.
Mr Platkin says the order violates the US constitution which enshrines the guarantee of birthright citizenship.
"Presidents in this country have broad powers, but they are not kings. They do not have the power to unilaterally rewrite the Constitution. They do not have the power to unilaterally disregard our laws. We know that the executive order would wreak havoc and chaos. Hundreds of thousands of children who are born in this country to non-citizen parents each year will suddenly have an uncertain legal status – that’s at least 420 children born every single day. The state's ability to safeguard their well-being, to provide basic services, like health care and special education needs, would be thrown into disarray."
Another executive order making headlines was President Trump's pardon of 1,500 defendants who took part in the deadly storming of the US Capitol on January 6, 2021 - including many who had been sentenced and imprisoned.
William, now released after the blanket pardon wiped his felony conviction away, told SBS he thanks Donald Trump but wants further justice.
"It's kind of a blessing to see that the good Lord prevails. It's cool to be a felon with a felon, just chilling. I'd tell him thank you. I appreciate him sticking to his word. I know there's still a lot to do, even if it's our little local communities, because I'd consider I'd like to hold people accountable for doing the wrong things. Even if it's the judges, the prosecutors, all the way around, the FBI agents."
Those pardoned by President Trump included more than 400 people who had been charged or convicted of violently assaulting over 140 police officers during the attempted insurrection.
He defended the move saying some of those pardoned had already served an appropriate sentence for any potential crimes.
"These people have served years of jail. Their lives have been ruined. And in many, and in many cases, listen to me for a second. Stop interrupting. They've been given a pardon, I thought their sentences were ridiculous and excessive. And in at least the cases that we looked at, these were people that actually love our country. So we thought a pardon would be appropriate."]]
